Contact: Kristi Blitz for Sprinkman Real Estate
217-0722
SPRINKMAN REAL ESTATE BREAKS FROM RESTAINO TO OPEN INDEPENDENT FIRM
Madison, Wisconsin – February 7, 2014 – Sprinkman Real Estate, a new Madison-based independent real estate firm offering residential brokerage and marketing services, recently opened their office at the historic Harvester Plaza, 301 S. Blount Street, Suite 101. A top-producing agent for over 20 years, most recently at Restaino and Associates Realtors, Shelly Sprinkman and her team have created a boutique agency to develop an innovative platform with mobile technology, creative marketing and the potential for flexible listing options – enhancing the residential real estate process and offering an uncharacteristic breadth of service to Madison-area home buyers and sellers.
“We are excited about creating a real estate firm that is able to adapt quickly to the market and our clients’ needs,” said Shelly Sprinkman, broker and co-owner of Sprinkman Real Estate. “As an independent company, we are able to offer a more customized experience using a unique variety of specialized technology and marketing. We are exploring everything – from mobile apps to strategic partnerships to less-conventional listing agreements – in order to simplify the real estate process and offer more personalized service to our clients.”
Sprinkman Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of traditional real estate brokerage and marketing services – including buyer’s and listing agent transactional support, contract negotiation and relocation assistance – but also has amenities more indicative of a boutique firm in a larger urban area. Most notably, the company is examining the possibility of providing a “hybrid” listing agreement offering home sellers an option equivalent to a value-added flat-fee MLS listing. Sellers would benefit from full-service marketing, online support and listing-agent counsel while handling negotiations on their own. Sellers could convert to a traditional listing agreement at any time.
“We’re still looking at it from both a logistical and legal perspective, but this new listing structure would offer those sellers comfortable with contract negotiations a viable option to reach a wider range of buyers,” stated Sprinkman. “The flat-fee MLS provides a limited scope – while it can be successful, we’ve found that a more robust marketing effort pays significant dividends in the Madison area.”
The new agency plans to be paperless as of March 1, 2014, utilizing technology to gain efficiencies and eco-friendly benefits. The firm will use Cartavi, a web-based software that provides secure storage, access and document sharing for parties involved in a transaction; DocuSign, a cloud-based electronic signature technology that facilitates the timely exchange of contracts and legal materials; and ZipForms – a legally-digitizing software endorsed by the National Association of REALTORS.
Sprinkman Real Estate is also using technology to personalize home buying and offer greater depth of customized service when completing a property search. The firm uses the application Evernote to house client information including anything from on-site photos to listing appointments to paint-chip likes and dislikes. This creates a one-stop shop for home buyers – much like a digitally diverse Pinterest – to track all aspects of their process, and for agents and staff to share suggestions. In addition, the firm uses Evernote-related applications, Penultimate and Skitch, to visualize interior remodeling projects and send messages with sketches, handwritten notes and photography for outside vendors for estimates.
“Our use of technology allows us to deliver another layer of service to our clients,” said Sprinkman. “We are eager to provide anything that helps a buyer make an informed, results-oriented decision – whether it be secure access to contracts, a list of area restaurants, or a virtual notepad and sketch of how the remodeled bathroom would look. We want to continue to exceed our clients’ expectations – and to push ourselves to think about their process from every angle.”
Sprinkman Real Estate will continue to provide unique services including expert staging and post-move consultations with an interior designer, as well as marketing that includes an on-staff professional photographer. To expand their capabilities, the firm is currently looking at using photography drones – remote controlled aerial cameras – to capture video and photo coverage of the exterior of homes. This will offer home buyers a 360-degree view of the house, neighborhood and surrounding geography. The agency is also committed to non-traditional real estate marketing efforts such as event-based tactics grouping homes for pedestrian tours and strategic partnerships with local charities.
About Sprinkman Real Estate
Sprinkman Real Estate is an independent Madison-based residential real estate firm that offers a comprehensive range of results-oriented real estate brokerage and marketing services. With over 20 years of experience in the Madison market, the office includes four licensed listing and buyer’s agents; marketing and photography services; as well as professional staging and post-sale interior design consulting. A member of the downtown Madison community, Sprinkman Real Estate is located at 301 S. Blount Street, Suite 101. The broker-owned company specializes in city and lake home properties in Maple Bluff, Middleton Hills, University Heights, Nakoma, Shorewood Hills, near west and downtown Madison. For more information, visit: www.sprinkmanrealestate.com.
